A man who had been charged with the gang-related murder of a high school freshman in 2009 will be released from custody after pleading to the lesser offense of inciting a felony. Jamal Clay, 22, entered an Alford plea in front of Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Tracey Flemings-Davillier on Monday and received a 24-month sentence with credit for time served, court documents and the District Attorney's Office said.

Clay has been in jail for more than four years awaiting the resolution of his case. In Alford pleas, defendants do not admit their guilt but concede that strong evidence against them could lead to a conviction.

The District Attorney's Office didn't comment on the outcome of the case Monday. Jason Williams, whose law firm represented Clay, issued a statement saying, "Jamal Clay, today and every day since his arrest, steadfastly denied any involvement in any homicide. ... Today, we were able to reach an agreement for a charge that would secure his release while maintaining that he did not participate in a homicide."

The state charged Clay with second-degree murder in the death of Rodrick Gordon, 16, who was gunned down in a courtyard of the Iberville public housing complex May 22, 2009. According to court filings, prosecutors believe Gordon was shot while standing next to his cousin, a member of an Iberville gang known as the "Goonie Boys."

Investigators said a member of the Goonie Boys had killed two associates of a 6th Ward group known as the "Wild Side Gang." To retaliate, members of the Wild Side Gang and a separate 7th Ward group, the "Prieur and Columbus Boys," or PCB, carried out the shooting that killed Gordon, police said.

On the day he died, Gordon, a ninth-grader at L.B. Landry High School in Algiers, had attended his little sister's kindergarten graduation with her, his mother and his grandmother.

Prosecutors had sought to use this and other photos against second-degree murder defendant Jamal Clay. Clay entered an Alford plea in the case, in which a defendant does not admit his guilt but concedes strong evidence could have led to his conviction.

The state later arrested and charged five defendants: Clay, Travis Burke, Joseph Kemp, Quincy Jackson and Dominick Grant. Kemp, Jackson and Grant belonged to the Wild Side Gang, and Burke and Clay belonged to PCB, according to court filings.

A jury convicted Burke, 22, nicknamed "T-Streets," of second-degree murder in January 2011, and he was given a mandatory life sentence. The state's case against Burke relied on a sole eyewitness, who also implicated Clay, or "Yung Mal," as a second shooter.

In April, the district attorney sent a notice to Burke that a man who had witnessed Gordon's murder told prosecutors that Burke and Clay were not the killers. That witness, who claimed there were three attackers, had not been called to testify at Burke's trial. The defense never knew he existed.

Burke petitioned the Louisiana Supreme Court to review his conviction, but the request was denied in May, records show. Meanwhile, the district attorney offered deals to the other four defendants.

Jackson, 22, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and agreed to an eight-year sentence, with credit for time served and the remaining balance suspended, meaning he was eligible for immediate release.

Kemp, 24, and Grant, 22, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to second-degree murder. They agreed to five-year prison sentences; but, like Jackson, they were given credit for time served, and the balance was suspended.

Clay declined a deal and prepared to go to trial. But, on April 8, Flemings-Davillier granted the state's request for a continuance when a material witness against Clay refused to show up to court for his trial, and he stayed in custody.

On April 12, the state requested a material witness bond for a woman described as "essential to the prosecution" but who had indicated she would not testify under any circumstances. The judge granted the request.

Clay was scheduled to go to trial Monday, and he accepted the plea deal.

"When other defendants pleaded guilty to various charges in exchange for release from jail, (Clay) chose to remain in jail and wait for his day in court," Williams, the attorney, said.

The prosecution had successfully asked the judge to let them introduce to a jury raps that Clay supposedly wrote in which he says he is the CEO of the PCB gang and sings about wielding guns and killing his enemies. He also raps that Burke is the gang's "hitman."

Previously, in April 2009, Clay pleaded guilty to simple battery and illegal carrying of a weapon. He got six months in prison with credit for time served on that conviction.